Russian red skies come to Leicestershire, UK Thurs 9th July 2009. Captured with Olympus E3 dslr and 50-200mm lens.
In mid-June 2009, Russia's Sarychev Peak volcano erupted, hurling an enormous plume of ash and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. This has produced some unusually colorful sunrises and sunsets around the northern hemisphere. Purple is one of the telltale colors of a volcanic sunset. Fine volcanic aerosols in the stratosphere scatter blue light which, when mixed with ordinary sunset red, produces a violet hue. Other signs to look for include a bright yellow "twilight arch" and long crepuscular rays and shadows

How do volcanoes turn the sky purple? Fine, sulfurous aerosols in the stratosphere scatter blue light. Blue mixes with ordinary sunset red to produce the lavender hue. It has been a full month since Sarychev Peak erupted and the purple is still being sighted on a regular basis from Russia, Canada, Iceland, northern-tier US states and many countries in Europe.